About

Student with poster The Division of Clinical Toxicology provides emergency and elective consultation for children and adults with acute and chronic poisonings, envenomations, adverse drug reactions and drug interactions. The division was established in 2009 to coordinate patient care activities, enhance student and resident education, increase research efforts and facilitate collaboration with other VCU faculty and staff with toxicology expertise.

Mission

Our mission is to be Central and Eastern Virginia’s definitive resource in all human poisoning through medical consultation, community engagement and extensive education for healthcare providers. We actively promote poison prevention and lowered healthcare costs by reducing unnecessary emergency room visits.

Education

Residency Rotation

Residents in the Department of Emergency Medicine complete a required medical toxicology rotation, during which they review cases from the Virginia Poison Center, deliver grand rounds and lectures and provide consultations to in-house services on toxicology matters under the direction of division faculty. For emergency medicine residents interested in pursuing a career in toxicology, a one-year longitudinal track provides additional exposure to the subspecialty.

Residents from other specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, pathology and pharmacy also rotate through our clinic during their training.

Fellowship

The Division of Clinical Toxicology offers a two-year fellowship accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Fellows develop exceptional skills in all domains of the medical toxicology discipline while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance focused on trainee wellness.

Virginia Poison Center

Established in 1958, the Virginia Poison Center is a free, 24/7 emergency service for both the public and all healthcare providers with cases of poison exposure, staffed by our specially trained registered nurses. The center’s service area includes more than 3 million people and nearly 50 acute care hospitals and urgent care centers in central and eastern Virginia. A board-certified toxicologist is always on call for additional consultation.

The mission of the Virginia Poison Center is to provide rapid, expert and compassionate help to the public and health professionals in cases of suspected poison exposures and to provide public and professional education that reduces poison incidents.

Local: 804-828-9123

Toll-free: 800-222-1222

Learn more about the Virginia Poison Center

By The Numbers

percentage of human exposure cases managed by PCCs in 2017 involving children under age 6

percentage of cases managed by PCCs in 2017 involving drugs and medication

cases of death due to drug overdose were recorded in the U.S. in 2017

$0b

medical cost and lost productivity saved by PCCs.

Our Team

Kirk Cumpston, DO

Professor

Kirk Cumpston, DO

Professor

Division of Clinical Toxicology

Virginia Poison Center Medical Director

Email: kirk.cumpston@vcuhealth.org

Emily Kershner, MD

Assistant Professor

Emily Kershner, MD

Assistant Professor

Emergency Medicine Division of Toxicology

Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Email: emily.kershner@vcuhealth.org